Northwell Health has agreed to hand over $1 million to resolve claims that it deceived New Yorkers into overpaying for Covid-19 tests at the height of the pandemic.
The settlement, announced by Attorney General Letitia James on Friday, resolves allegations that Northwell billed patients high emergency department fees after falsely suggesting they would only be charged for a Covid test. New Yorkers filed complaints stating that they received surprise bills from three Northwell emergency departments in the early months of the pandemic.
The attorney general claimed that Northwell advertised three of its emergency departments as Covid testing sites between March 2020 and 2021. More than 30,000 patients were tested for Covid at Lenox Hill Hospital in the Upper East Side, Lenox Health Greenwich Village and Huntington Hospital in Long Island during that time period.
Despite receiving only a Covid test, patients were billed standard emergency department fees, which include facility charges, professional fees and overhead costs associated with keeping the lights on, according to the attorney general. Standard ER charges can amount to thousands of dollars charged to insurance companies – and unexpected out-of-pocket costs to patients.
Northwell has paid roughly $400,000 to over 2,000 people who were charged emergency room fees after getting a Covid test. The health system will also pay $650,000 to the attorney general as a part of the settlement.
Barbara Osborn, a spokeswoman for Northwell, said that the health system voluntarily cooperated with the attorney general’s investigation without admitting to wrongdoing. Although Northwell advertised its emergency rooms as testing sites, she said, the health system also implemented billing controls that prevented patients from paying out-of-pocket for Covid tests and other services. The health system also stopped collections from patients in some cases where it was entitled to payment, Osborn added.
Northwell ultimately determined that it falsely billed patients roughly $82,000, which it refunded, Osborn said. The health system also voluntarily refunded more patients for non-Covid services in cases where the health system was eligible to collect more than $300,000, she added.
Northwell Health has 21 hospitals and 850 outpatient locations in New York state. The health system is New York’s largest employer.
Amanda D'Ambrosio , 2024-04-15 11:33:05
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